Silverware sorting means

ABSTRACT

A silverware sorting means for separating knives, forks and spoons which are delivered in random fashion to the sorting means. A sorting bed is provided with vibrating means for moving silverware toward various discharge openings in the bed. Knives are passed through first openings at the leading end of the bed and then into collecting means located beneath the bed. Discharge openings at an intermediate location provide for the passage of spoons through the bed and into additional collecting means. These discharge openings comprise slots dimensioned so that spoons of one size will pass through first into separate collecting means and larger spoons at a later time for discharge into further collecting means. The spoons are held suspended by their bowls and the attitude of the spoons is controlled to determine the discharge point. Separate discharge openings are then provided for the forks, the prior openings being designed so that the forks will ride over these openings.

United States Patent Ettlin'ger, Jr. et al.

1 51 July 11,1972

[54] SILVERWARE SORTING MEANS [72] Inventors: Ralph Ettlinger, Jr., Highland Park; Frederick P. Strobl, Jr., Park Ridge, both of Ill.

[73] Assignee: Avent Industries, Inc., Wheeling, ill.

[22] Filed: July 31, 1970 211 Appl. No.2 60,020

3,545,613 12/1970 Nystuen ..209/85 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Attbrney-McDougall, Hersh & Scott ABSTRACT A silverware sorting means for separating knives, forks and spoons which are delivered in random fashion to the sorting means. A sorting bed is provided with vibrating means for moving silverware toward various discharge openings in the bed. Knives are passed through first openings at the leading end of the bed and then into collecting means located beneath the bed. Discharge openings at an intermediate location provide for the passage of spoons through the bed and into additional collecting means. These discharge openings comprise slots dimensioned so that spoons of one size will pass through first into separate collecting means and larger spoons at a later time for discharge into further collecting means. The spoons are held suspended by their bowls and the attitude of the spoons is controlled to determine the discharge point. Separate discharge openings are then provided for the forks, the prior openings beingdesigned so that the forks will ride over these openings.

12Claims, 14 Drawing Figures SILVERWARE SORTING MEANS This invention relates to an apparatus for sorting silverware. The apparatus is particularly designed for handling knives, spoons and forks so that these items can be automatically collected in separate receptacle without the need for manual sorting.

Many institutions, for example schools, restaurants, and industrial cafeterias, handle large volumes of tableware to provide food service. In a typical operation involving cafeteriastyle service, plates, saucers, cups, glasses and silverware, as well as cafeteria trays must be collected in some fashion, washed, and then reused.

It is normal practice to manually separate the various items of tableware. The separate stacks of trays, plates, etc., are than manually loaded into dishwashing racks or directed onto conveyors for passage through automatic dishwashing equipment. When the washing operation is completed, additional manual handling of at least some of these items is required to restack the items or to otherwise store them until they are ready for further use. p

In copending application Ser. No. 828,510, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,767 entitled Vibrating Sorter for Soiled Tableware, there is described a system whereby various items of tableware can be conveyed in random fashion for automatic separation of the tableware to thereby minimize manual handling. In copending application Ser. No. 851,927, now US. Pat. No. 3,584,752 entitled Tableware Tray Tilting and Conveying Means," means are described for handling cafeteria trays in a system of the type described in the first mentioned application.

Copending application Ser. No. 23,855 entitled Silverware Sorter, describes a means for sorting silverware as an operation apart from the sorting of other items of tableware. As outlined in this application, the systems described in the other applications are quite satisfactory from the standpoint of separating various items of tableware, however, special problems remain insofar as silverware is concerned. Naturally pieces of silverware represent a proportionally higher number of pieces when the total number of pieces used in a particular institution are considered. Accordingly, it is most important to provide means for reducing as much as possible the handling of silverware to thereby minimize labor costs, to save time in the over-all operation, and to eliminate handling of clean silverware prior to use in the dining area.

It is particularly necessary in the case of silverware sorting means to provide a reliable and efficient construction. Thus, the silverware pieces are relatively small and could lead to significant maintenance problems if any of these pieces become jammed. Such problems will lead to lost operating time which can be quite critical in cases where heavy servicing schedules require frequent reuse of silverware. Similarly, lost time would result where the equipment is unreliable from the standpoint of accurate sorting. In this case, manual sorting would have to be employed to correct errors.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved construction for sorting silverware.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a silverware sorting construction which operates to automatically separate knives, spoons, and forks so that manual separation of these items can be eliminated.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a-sorting construction which will operate efficiently and reliably whereby a minimum number of man hours are required for maintenance and for correcting sorting errors.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter, and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view taken about the line 1-1 of FIG. 2 illustrating a silverware sorting construction characterized by the features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the construction;

FIG. 3 is a lower level plan view taken about the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view taken about the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of a track;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of a track;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken about the line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 8 through 12 are enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional views taken, respectively, about the lines 8-8 through 12-12 of'FIG. l; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are enlarged-fragmentary cross-sectional views taken about the lines 13-13 and 14-14, respectively, of FIG. 1.

The construction of the invention generally includes a bed for supporting knives, forks, and spoons delivered onto the bed. Means are provided for moving the silverware along the bed toward a discharge end. Preferably the system includes vibrating means for this purpose so that the movement can be rather precisely controlled and so that the silverware will move along desired paths, preferably provided by means of troughs defined in the bed.

A collecting means for knives comprises first openings defined by the bed adjacent the front end. The knives are loaded on the bed, and are then passed through these openings onto a lower level bed. The knives are then moved along this bed until they fall into a suitable receptacle positioned at the end of the lower level.

Second discharge outlets are provided in the bed for collecting spoons. The spoons all pass through these discharge openings with means being provided for separating spoons with larger and smaller bowls. In a preferred form of the invention, these separating means comprise a retaining wall which engages the spoon handles and maintains the angle of the spoons to thereby control the discharge position.

A third set of openings is formed in the bed, and these openings are dimensioned so that the forks will pass through the bed into suitable receptacles for the forks. The bed preferably defines V-shaped troughs for receiving the silverware during movement over the bed, and this trough design causes the forks to by-pass openings through which the knives and spoons pass.

In the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1' illustrates a silverware sorting apparatus 10 characterized by the features of this invention. This apparatus consists of an upper bed 12 which received silverware from a loading apparatus 14. The loading apparatus 14 comprises a drum 16 mounted on rollers 18 with openings being defined by the drum whereby silverware will deposit on a delivery chute surface 20 as the drum revolves. Reference is made to copending application Ser. No. 59,940, filed on July 31, 1970, and enu'tled Silverware Loading Apparatus for details of the loading mechanisms. When considering the structure of this invention, it will be appreciated that various loading means could be employed, including manual loading, in conjunction with the sorting construction of this invention.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the main bed 12 of the sorting apparatus defines a plurality of troughs 22 for receiving pieces of silverware. Openings in the form of elongated slots 24 and shorter and wider slots 26 are defined at the bottom of each trough. The end of each slot 24 defines an enlarged portion 28.

The sorting apparatus also includes a lower bed 30 which is attached through walls 32 to the upper bed 12. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower bed defines a plurality of grooved portions 36 and discharge openings 38 are defined at the bottom of each groove adjacent the end of the bed 30. Positioned beneath the openings 38 is a funnel structure 40. The outlet 42 of this funnel structure is located above a container 44 which is utilized for holding the silverware. The container 44 may be employed for holding soiled silverware where the sorting is accomplished prior to delivery of the silverware to a dishwasher. On the other hand, the construction of this invention is also ideally suited for the sorting of clean silverware. In that case, the receptacle 44 may comprise a cup structure of the type used in a cafeteria line whereby individuals can select particular pieces of silverware.

Similar funnel structures 40 are located beneath the slots 24 and 26. As will be explained, the combination of the trough and slot designs provides for the passage of silverware through the bed 12 in a selective fashion whereby knives are delivered to the first funnel structure, teaspoons to the second funnel structure, soup spoons and other larger spoons to the third funnel structure and forks to the fourth funnel structure. Each of the receptacles 44 will, therefore, receive silverware of only one type so that manual sorting is not required.

In order to accomplish the aims of the invention, the silverware must be transported along the bed 12. In the embodiment illustrated, a vibrator 46 is attached to the underside of the lower bed 30. The assembly comprising the lower bed 30 and the upper bed 12 is then vibrated in a manner such that each piece of silverware loaded on a bed will move from left to right until that piece falls through one of the openings. In addition, the vibrating action insures that each piece of silverware will move within one of the troughs 22 or 36. Thus, the combination of vibrations and the trough designs insures that the silverware will settle at the bottom of the trough.

The width of the slot 24 is such that every knife loaded on the bed 12 will fall through onto the lower bed 30. Furthermore, every knife on the bed 30 will move to the opening 38 at which time the weight of the knife handles will cause each knife to fall into the funnel structures 40 beneath the openings 38.

The handles of each spoon will also pass through a lot 24, however, the bed 12 is designed so that the spoons will be suspended during movement along the bed. In the preferred form of this invention, this suspending action is accomplished in the manner shown in FIG. 9. This figure illustrates a smaller spoon 50, and a larger spoon 52 suspended in a trough 22 with the handles of each spoon having passed through the slot 24. The spoons are suspended, however, because of the thicker bowl dimensions and in the case of smaller spoons, because of the bed design.

It will be noted that a rectangular recess 54 is cut into the bottom of the bed 12 immediately beneath each slot 24. The handles of the spoons bear against the wall of the recess 54, and this engagement cooperates with the spoon bowls for maintaining the smaller spoons 50 in a suspended relationship. Thus, the engagement prevents the smaller spoons from moving to an attitude which would allow these spoons to slip through the slot 24.

The rectangular recess 54 communicates with an enlarged recessed area 56 toward the end of the bed. This enlarged recessed area allows the smaller spoons 50 to tilt to a position such that the spoons will slip through the slot 24 The second chute 40 and associated receptacle 44 are located for receiving the smaller spoons 50. The larger spoons 52 will not pass through when this enlarged recess is encountered since the slot 24 is too narrow to permit passage of the larger bowls of the spoons.

The larger spoons 52 pass through the bed 12 when the enlarged ends 28 of the slots 24 are encountered. Thus, the dimensions of these enlarged ends are such that any spoon which has not passed through will be collected by the third funnel and receptacle combination located beneath these enlarged ends.

The opening 26 is designed to permit passage of forks through the last funnel construction and into the receptacle 44 positioned beneath this funnel construction. It has been found that the use of V-shaped grooves of the type illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 12 will enable the forks to lie flat on the bed 12 until the forks have reached an opening 26. Thus, the weight distribution of a standard fork is such that there is no tendency for fork handles to slip through a slot 24. Similarly, the horizontal attitude of a fork will cause all forks to by-pass the openings 28. The opening 26 is provided with sufiicient width to insure passing of a fork through the bed for collection in the last receptacle.

For washing purposes, it is essential that the handles of the silverware be located downwardly in a receptacle 44. The construction of this invention takes advantage of the weight dis tribution of silverware to insure that each piece of silverware will fall into a receptacle in a handles down" position. In the case of the knives, the handles are substantially heavier than the blades, and a knife will pass through the openings 38 whenever the center of gravity of a knife, which is in the handle portion, is located over an opening 38.

In the case of spoons, only the handles will pass through slots 24 and, therefore, the spoons will always drop from the bed 12 in a handles down position. The handles of the forks, on the other hand, will always drop through openings 26 first irrespective of whether the handles are the leading or trailing portion of a fork during movement of the bed 12. The V- shaped configurafion of the troughs 22 serves to prevent movement of the fork handles through slots 24. As best shown in FIG. 8, the forks will lie against one flat wall of a trough 22 and they will remain in this position because of the weight distribution of a fork.

In the embodiment illustrated, the angle included between the trough walls is approximately 70, and this angle is preferably maintained between 60 and Some variations are desirable where different types of silverware are to be employed; however, silverware for large restaurant and cafeteria operations is substantially uniform in size and weight distribution which provides distinct advantages in the manufacture of sorting constructions of the type described. The base of each trough need not define a sharp angle since a radius or parabolic shape is satisfactory so long as the trough walls hold the silverware in the attitude illustrated.

The dimensions employed for the various openings in the construction are dependent to a degree upon the dimensions of the silverware being handled. In a typical example, the slot 24 will have a width of 0.280 inches. This will permit knives having a thickness of approximately 0.250 inches to readily fall on the lower bed. The thickest dimension of a typical teaspoon (the dimension measured along a line extending perpendicular from the center of the bowl) is about 0.250 inches; however, the recess 54 is kept narrow enough so that the effective thickness of the spoon will exceed the width of the slot 24. Typically, the width of the recess 54 is 0.625 inches.

In order to permit the teaspoons 50 to fall through the upper bed, the recess 56 is made large enough to permit tilting of the spoon bowls to a vertical position. Thus, the dimensions of the recesses 56 are not critical beyond a minimum size.

The openings 28 are made large enough to pennit passage of larger spoons which would typically have a thickness of 0.350 inches. The openings 28 may thus be about 0.380 inches at their largest dimension.

The width of the slots 26 is maintained so that forks will always fall through handles-first. Thus, the spoons 26 are small enough so that a fork will remain in the attitude shown in FIG. 8 even after moving over a slot 26. Typically, the slots 26 have a width of 0.5 inches and this width is sufficient to allow the curved handles of forks to fall through slots, and when this occurs, the head of the forks will follow.

The openings 38 in the lower bed may be substantially oversized when compared with the width of a knife handle since the weight of the handles relative to the knife blade is relied on to insure that the knives will fall through the bed handles-first. Openings of about 0.750 inches are quite suitable.

The use of a vibrating means for moving the silverware along the beds 12 and 30 is particularly desirable from an efficiency standpoint. Both beds are connected to the same vibrator so that all movement can be accomplished with one vibrating means. Other devices may, however, be employed for accomplishing movement of silverware, for example, brush means or water streams. The latter could also be used as a supplementary moving means and rinsing of the silverware.

In the construction described, the silverware will naturally position itselfin the manner described with the force of gravity, the design of the trough openings, and the "V groove design determining the attitude of the silverware relative to the bed to thereby control the discharge. Gentle vibration is all that is required to move the silverware along the upper and lower beds, and the vibration frequency which will provide the best movement speed for a specific sorter can easily be determined.

Only vibration and gravity forces are utilized and therefore, once the silverware reaches the bed, no cams, motors, pins, pawls, solenoids or other outside influences are required to orient and dispense the silverware down the length of the bed. Furthermore, the bed will move silverware down its length for a suitable distance until the silverware positions itself properly for sorting. Thus, the silverware has an extremely high number of chances of being oriented and then properly collected. Odd pieces (bent silverware or foreign objects) do not tend to jam the bed due to the simplicity of the operation.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the above described construction which provide the characteristics of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof particularly as defined in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

l. A construction for sorting silverware including knives, forks and spoons, said construction comprising a loading end, a bed for supporting the silverware, means for moving the silverware along the bed away from said loading end, at least one series of openings defined by the bed for passage of silverware through the bed, said series comprising a first opening dimensioned so that knives will pass through the bed, said first opening also being dimensioned so that the handles of spoons will pass through the bed with the bowls of the spoons suspending the spoons on said bed, spoon handle engaging means located beneath said bed and extending along a portion of the bed, said handle engaging means inhibiting tilting of the spoons relative to the bed, said first opening being dimensioned so that spoons with smaller bowls will pass through the bed when these spoons move beyond said handle engaging means, a second opening comprising an enlarged area formed as a continuation of said first opening, said second opening being dimensioned so that spoons with larger bowls will pass through said second opening, a third opening positioned beyond said second opening, said third opening being dimensioned so that forks will pass through the bed, and including a second bed positioned beneath said first bed adjacent the loading end of said first bed, said second bed being positioned for collecting knives passing through said first opening and additional openings formed in said second bed dimensioned so that knives will pass through said second bed.

2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including separate collecting means for knives, smaller bowl spoons, larger bowl spoons, and forks, said collecting means being positioned beneath said bed whereby said silverware will drop into said collecting means.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 including a plurality of funnel structures extending downwardly from said bed for directing silverware from said bed into said collecting means.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein vibrating means are employed for moving said silverware along said bed, said second bed being attached to said first bed and said vibrating means connected to said second bed whereby a single vibrating means will impart vibrations to both the first and second beds.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first opening comprises an elongated slot, said handle engag ing means comprising closely spaced apart walls defined by said bed immediately beneath said slot, said walls terminating short of said enlarged end portion of said first opening.

6. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bed defines a plurality of troughs and wherein a series of openings is defined along the bottom of each trough.

7. A construction in accordance with claim 6 wherein said troughs define a V-shaped cross section.

8. A construction in accordance with claim 7 wherein the angle included between the side walls of a trough is between 60 and 90.

9. A construction for sorting silverware including knives, forks and spoons, said construction comprising a loading end, a bed for supporting the silverware, means for moving the silverware along the bed away from said loading end, at least one series of openings defined by the bed for passage of silverware through the bed, said series comprising a first opening dimensioned so that knives will pass through the bed, said first opening also being dimensioned so that the handles of spoons will pass through the bed with the bowls of the spoons suspending the spoons on said bed, spoon handle engaging means located beneath said bed and extending along a portion of the bed, said handle engaging means inhibiting tilting of the spoons relative to the bed, said first opening being dimensioned so that spoons with smaller bowls will pass through the bed when these spoons move beyond said handle engaging means, a second opening comprising an enlarged area formed as a continuation of said first opening, said second opening being dimensioned so that spoons with larger bowls will pass through said second opening, a third opening positioned beyond said second opening, said third opening being dimensioned so that forks will pass through the bed, and wherein said enlarged end of said first opening comprises a relatively short and wide opening, and wherein said third opening comprises a relatively wide and elongated slot located in spaced relationship relative to said enlarged end.

10. In a construction for sorting spoons wherein the bowls of the spoons are of difi'erent sizes, the improvement comprising a bed, a loading means for depositing spoons on the bed whereby the spoons are supported by the bed, means associated with the bed for moving the spoons along the bed, at least one opening defined by the bed for passage of the spoons through the bed, said opening including a narrow first portion dimensioned so that the handles of the spoons will pass through the bed with the bowls of the spoons suspending the spoons on the bed, spoon handle engaging means located beneath said bed, said spoon handle engaging means terminating short of the extent of said first portion whereby said handles are moved out of contact with said handle engaging means, said handle engaging means inhibiting tilting of the spoons relative to the bed whereby said spoons are free to tilt beyond the extent of said handle engaging means, said first portion being dimensioned so that spoons with smaller bowls will pass through the bed when these spoons tilt after moving beyond the extent of said handle engaging means, and a second opening portion comprising an enlarged area formed as a continuation of said first portion, said second portion being dimensioned so that spoons with larger bowls will pass through said second portion, said second portion being located in spaced relationship relative to the end of said handle engaging means whereby said spoons with larger bowls can be collected separately from the spoons with smaller bowls.

11. A construction in accordance with claim 10 wherein said opening comprises an elongated slot, said handle engaging means comprising closely spaced apart walls defined by said bed immediately beneath said slot.

12. A construction for sorting silverware including knives, forks and spoons, said construction comprising a loading end, a bed for supporting the silverware, means for moving the silverware along the bed away from said loading end, and at least one series of openings defined by the bed for passage of silverware through the bed including a first opening dimensioned so that knives will pass through the bed, the improvement comprising a second bed positioned beneath said first bed adjacent the loading end of said first bed, said second bed being positioned for collecting knives passing through said first opening and additional openings formed in said second bed dimensioned so that knives will pass through said second bed, said second bed defining a plurality of grooved portions whereby the bed is characterized by an undulating cross section with the grooves defining tracks for movement of knives therealong, said additional openings comprising slots defined at the end of each track, said slots having a length less than the length substantially corresponding with the length of a knive handle whereby the knives will drop through the slots when the center of gravity of a knife is located over a slot. 

1. A construction for sorting silverware including knives, forks and spoons, said construction comprising a loading end, a bed for supporting the silverware, means for moving the silverware along the bed away from said loading end, at least one series of openings defined by the bed for passage of silverware through the bed, said series comprising a first opening dimensIoned so that knives will pass through the bed, said first opening also being dimensioned so that the handles of spoons will pass through the bed with the bowls of the spoons suspending the spoons on said bed, spoon handle engaging means located beneath said bed and extending along a portion of the bed, said handle engaging means inhibiting tilting of the spoons relative to the bed, said first opening being dimensioned so that spoons with smaller bowls will pass through the bed when these spoons move beyond said handle engaging means, a second opening comprising an enlarged area formed as a continuation of said first opening, said second opening being dimensioned so that spoons with larger bowls will pass through said second opening, a third opening positioned beyond said second opening, said third opening being dimensioned so that forks will pass through the bed, and including a second bed positioned beneath said first bed adjacent the loading end of said first bed, said second bed being positioned for collecting knives passing through said first opening and additional openings formed in said second bed dimensioned so that knives will pass through said second bed.
 2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including separate collecting means for knives, smaller bowl spoons, larger bowl spoons, and forks, said collecting means being positioned beneath said bed whereby said silverware will drop into said collecting means.
 3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 including a plurality of funnel structures extending downwardly from said bed for directing silverware from said bed into said collecting means.
 4. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein vibrating means are employed for moving said silverware along said bed, said second bed being attached to said first bed and said vibrating means connected to said second bed whereby a single vibrating means will impart vibrations to both the first and second beds.
 5. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first opening comprises an elongated slot, said handle engaging means comprising closely spaced apart walls defined by said bed immediately beneath said slot, said walls terminating short of said enlarged end portion of said first opening.
 6. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bed defines a plurality of troughs and wherein a series of openings is defined along the bottom of each trough.
 7. A construction in accordance with claim 6 wherein said troughs define a V-shaped cross section.
 8. A construction in accordance with claim 7 wherein the angle included between the side walls of a trough is between 60* and 90*.
 9. A construction for sorting silverware including knives, forks and spoons, said construction comprising a loading end, a bed for supporting the silverware, means for moving the silverware along the bed away from said loading end, at least one series of openings defined by the bed for passage of silverware through the bed, said series comprising a first opening dimensioned so that knives will pass through the bed, said first opening also being dimensioned so that the handles of spoons will pass through the bed with the bowls of the spoons suspending the spoons on said bed, spoon handle engaging means located beneath said bed and extending along a portion of the bed, said handle engaging means inhibiting tilting of the spoons relative to the bed, said first opening being dimensioned so that spoons with smaller bowls will pass through the bed when these spoons move beyond said handle engaging means, a second opening comprising an enlarged area formed as a continuation of said first opening, said second opening being dimensioned so that spoons with larger bowls will pass through said second opening, a third opening positioned beyond said second opening, said third opening being dimensioned so that forks will pass through the bed, and wherein said enlarged end of said first opening comprises a relatively short and wide opening, and wherein Said third opening comprises a relatively wide and elongated slot located in spaced relationship relative to said enlarged end.
 10. In a construction for sorting spoons wherein the bowls of the spoons are of different sizes, the improvement comprising a bed, a loading means for depositing spoons on the bed whereby the spoons are supported by the bed, means associated with the bed for moving the spoons along the bed, at least one opening defined by the bed for passage of the spoons through the bed, said opening including a narrow first portion dimensioned so that the handles of the spoons will pass through the bed with the bowls of the spoons suspending the spoons on the bed, spoon handle engaging means located beneath said bed, said spoon handle engaging means terminating short of the extent of said first portion whereby said handles are moved out of contact with said handle engaging means, said handle engaging means inhibiting tilting of the spoons relative to the bed whereby said spoons are free to tilt beyond the extent of said handle engaging means, said first portion being dimensioned so that spoons with smaller bowls will pass through the bed when these spoons tilt after moving beyond the extent of said handle engaging means, and a second opening portion comprising an enlarged area formed as a continuation of said first portion, said second portion being dimensioned so that spoons with larger bowls will pass through said second portion, said second portion being located in spaced relationship relative to the end of said handle engaging means whereby said spoons with larger bowls can be collected separately from the spoons with smaller bowls.
 11. A construction in accordance with claim 10 wherein said opening comprises an elongated slot, said handle engaging means comprising closely spaced apart walls defined by said bed immediately beneath said slot.
 12. A construction for sorting silverware including knives, forks and spoons, said construction comprising a loading end, a bed for supporting the silverware, means for moving the silverware along the bed away from said loading end, and at least one series of openings defined by the bed for passage of silverware through the bed including a first opening dimensioned so that knives will pass through the bed, the improvement comprising a second bed positioned beneath said first bed adjacent the loading end of said first bed, said second bed being positioned for collecting knives passing through said first opening and additional openings formed in said second bed dimensioned so that knives will pass through said second bed, said second bed defining a plurality of grooved portions whereby the bed is characterized by an undulating cross section with the grooves defining tracks for movement of knives therealong, said additional openings comprising slots defined at the end of each track, said slots having a length less than the length substantially corresponding with the length of a knive handle whereby the knives will drop through the slots when the center of gravity of a knife is located over a slot. 